Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-05-28

"AS AAAS" SAA 0oSuV Ivy w oAO" AAuk
the way in which he should go. Naturally of
an energetic and hard working temperament,
he very soon got more or less into tho swing
Of the thing, and at the end Of six weeks be-
gan to talk quite learnedly Of cattle and os-
triches and sweet and sour veldt. About once
q week or so Bessie used to put him through
o regular examination as to his progress; also
she gave him lessons in Dutch and Zulu, both
Of which tongues she spoke to perfection; 80
1t will be seen that he did not lack for pleas
ant and profitable employment. Another
thing was that he grew much attached to old
Silas Croft. The old gentleman, with his hand
some, honest face, his large and varied stock
of experience, and his sturdy English charac-
ter, made great impression on his mind. He
had never met a man quite like him before.
was the liking unsupported, for his
host took a wonderful fancy to John Mel.
"You see, my dear" he explained to his niece
Bessie, she's quiet, and he doesn't know much
about farming, but he's willing to learn, and
he's such q gentleman. Now, where one has
Kaf6rs to deal with, as on q place like this,
you must have a gentleman. Your mean
white will never get anything out of a Kaflr;
that's why the Beers kill them and fog them,
because they can't get anything out of them
without. But you SEQ Capt. Mel gets on well
enough with them. I think he'll do, my
dear, I think he'll do" and Bessie quito agreed
with him. And so it came to pass that after
this six weeks trial the bargain was finally
struck, and John paid over his 81, 600 and
took a third interest in Mooifontein.
Now it is not possible, in a general way,
for a youngish man like John Mel to live in
the same house with a young and lovely
woman like Bessie Croft without running
more or less risk of ENHANCEMENT. More Is.
pecially is this so where the two people have
little or no outside society or distraction to
divert the attention from each other. Not
that there was as yet, at any rate, the
slightest hint Of affection between them,
Only they liked one another very much, and
found it pleasant to be a good deul together,
In short, they were walking along that easy.
winding road that leads to tho mountain
paths of love. It is a very broad road, like
another road that run elsewhere, and, also
like this last, it has a wide gate. Sometimes,
too, 1t leads to destruction. But for all that
1t is a most agreeable one to follow hand in
hand, winding Us it does through tho pleasant
meadows of companionship. Tho view Is
rather limited, it is true, and homelike-full
of familiar things. There stand tho kline,
knee deep in the grass; there runs the water;
and there grows the corn. Also one can stop
il one likes. By and by it grows different.
BY and by when tho travellers tread tho
heights of passion, prccipices will yawn
and torrents rush, lightning will fall
and storms will blind; and who can know
that they will attain at last to that far of
peak, crowned with the glory Of a perfect
peace which men call happiness! There are
those who say it never can he reached, and
that the halo which rests upon its slopes is no
earthly light, but rather, as it were. a
promise of a beacon-a glow reflected whence
we know not, and lying on this alien earth as
the suns light lies on the dead bosom Of the
moon. Some say, again, that they have
climbed its topmost pinnacle and tasted of
tho fresh breath Of heaven that sweeps
around its heights-ay, and heard the curing
OF immortal harps and the swanliie sigh OF
angels wings; and then behold! q mist has
fallen upon thom, and they have wandered in
it. and when it cleared they wero on the
mountain paths again, and the peak was far
away. And a few there are who tell us that
they live there always, listening to tho voice
of God; but these are % and worn with
journeying-nlen and women who have out.
lived passions and ambitions and the fire
heats of love, and who now, grit about with
memories, stand face to face with tho sphinx
eternity.
But John Mel was no chicken, nor very
likely to fall in love with tho first pretty face
he met He had once, years ago, conc
through That melancholy stage, and there, be
thought, was an end Of it. Another thing
was that il Bessie attracted him, so did Jess
in a different way. Before he had been a
week in the house he had come to the con-
clusion that Jess was the strangest woman hc
had ever met, and in her own way one of tho
most attractive. Her very im~passiveness
added to her charm; for who Is there in this
world who does not like to learn a secret2 To
him jess was q riddle of which no did not
know the key. That she was clever and well
informed he soon discovered from her rare
remarks; that she could sing like an angel he
also knew; but what was tho handspring Of
her mind-round what axis did it revolve-
that was what puzzled him. Clearly enough
1t was not like most women's, least Of all like
happy, healthy, plain sailing Bessie. Socuri-
Gus did he become to fathom these mysteries
That he took every opportunity to associate
with her, and would even, when he had time,
go out with her OH her sketching, or rather
flower painting, expeditions. On these &C.
casions she would sometimes begin to talk,
but it was always about books, or England,
or some Intellectual question. She never
spoke of herself.
Yet it soon became evident to John that
she liked his society, and missed him when he
did not come. 1t never occurred to him what
q boon it was to a girl Of considerable intel.
!ectual attainments, and still greater intel
lectual capacities and aspirations, to be
thrnwn for thu Arpt <fs,o to- AL
cultivated and intelligent gentleman. John
Mel was no empty headed. one sided indi-
vidual. He had both read and thought, and
even written a little, and in him Jess found a
mind which, though Of an inferior stamp,
was moro or less kindred to her own. Al
though he did not understand her, she under
stood him, and at last, had he but known it,
there rose q far off dawning light upon the
twilight Of her mind that thrilled and changed
it as the first faint ray OF morning thrill and
change the darkness of the night. What if
she should learn to love this man, and teach
him to love herr To most women such a
thought involves more or less the idea Of
marriage, and that change Of status
which they generally consider so de-
sirable. But Jess did not think much
OF that: what she did think of was the
blessed possibility of being able to lay down
her Life, as it were, in the life of another-of
finding at last somebody who understood her,
and whom she could understand, who would
cut the shackles that bound down the wings of
her genius, so that she could rise and bear him
with her as, in Bulwer Lytton's beautiful
story, Zoe would have borne her lover. Here
at last was a man who understood, who was
something more than an animal, and who
possessed the godlike gift Of brains. the gift
that had been more of a curse than a blessing
to her, lifting her above the level Of her sex
and shutting her of as by iron doors from
the understanding Of those around her. Alb!
IL only this perfect love of which sha had